I'm not sure what has happened, whether the new format has anything to do with it or if our market has just gone to dust, but this forum has been dead basically since the new ownership kicked in.
// s n i p //
Are we all just getting to jaded, or has the magic of this place worn off?
Now that you mention it, not much seems to be happening here.
But I have always felt the ATLANTA board/forum was a bit "thin" for a market this size. And maybe that is the problem. It is so big and so diverse, that it is hard to have conversation here as though we were sitting around a table in a coffee shop in Mayberry.
People who live in the 'urban density' of Atlanta (I use that strange term to mold together those who think they are Decatur or something other than Atlanta) have a different view of Atlanta radio than those us who live out in the "donut" of sprawling neighborhoods that surround Atlanta. Some of us tell relatives and friends that we are now in Atlanta while my next door neighbor may threaten to shoot anyone who suggests he is an Atlanta person.
Then there is North Georgia.... as in rural and mountains. I don't know that they identify with Georgia south of the Gnat Line so they are left to try and stand in the shadows and pretend they have some affinity with Atlanta.
And then there is Athens and Augusta. There is almost enough mass there to qualify as a stand-alone market-place, discussion-space in some other state.
And then there is the distinction that I approach with much care and caution. A few months ago I attended a gathering of voice-over people and voice-over wanna-bees at I guess what could be calleld a Mid-Town meeting venue. I had no idea what to expect. Can I be candid? Would I be the only non African-American there? It turned out toe be something like a 60/40 turnout, I thought the tone of the gathering was very much in keeping with the long standing Atlanta claim to being a city "too busy to hate" and it was good meeting. And it was interesting to go around the room with introductions, explanations of goals, and what you hoped to take away from the gathering. There was a wide, wide gulf of goals and expectations of the people gathered in that room.
And I think that sizes up the conversations in the Atlanta forum. There is a wide, wide gulf of goals and expectations of those of us who gather her for conversation.
And maybe the ones who are the best thread-starters are included in those who are standing back muttering: "What happened here? Is this the same place I used to hang-out and post? Did I click the wrong link in my browser?" It's like the first swim of Spring. I think I'll sit here in a pool side chair and see how loud the people yell who jump into the strange cool water first.
